Can I get a witness? Amen Brother Mark!!
Why do I hear the theme music from The Omen in my head while I’m reading that piece? I want to get the bumper sticker that says “Reelect Bush – I’m tired of waiting for the Apocalypse” but I don’t think anyone in Oklahoma would get it. They would think the Apocalypse with Bush at the helm was a good thing. You do have to give Karl Rove credit though for being the mastermind evil genius that he is. That layer of Teflon he’s coated Bush with insures all criticism heaped upon his boy is reflected back twice fold at the hapless Kerry. If only the Dem’s had a similar necromancer at their disposal. While I’ll never stop raging against the machine that is Bushco., I’ve also begun to resign myself to the inevitable. Bush is going to be win in November and this country is going to slide farther down that slippery slope into Neocon hell. Maybe after we attempt a regime change in Iran and they blow the living crap out of Israel with a nuclear weapon will the well-intentioned voters of this country realize they’ve made a most heinous and grievous mistake. It probably won’t make a difference though. They Republicans will just blame it all on Clinton.
I feel like crap. I’ve been home sick the last two days with a flold. I can’t tell if it’s the flu or a cold but it hardly matters. Some nasty little viral vermin has implanted itself deep in my tissue and is attempting to assimilate my blood cells into more of its murderous kind as I type. It’s not that I have a terribly bad cough or stuffy head but I have no energy whatsoever. A trip to the kitchen for something to drink is exhausting but I’m too alert to sleep. And daytime TV sucks. Dr. Phil is an annoying idiot. I may have to go to work tomorrow, no matter how fatigued I am, just to have something to do. It would be different if I had the energy to clean the house or ride the horse but I can barely do anything but lay listlessly on the bed. Sitting at the computer is wearing me out.
Ok…that’s enough of the pity party…let’s talk about Kyrielle.
Kyrielle started riding lessons a few weeks ago and we can already see a big boost in her confidence around the horses. Her first riding lesson almost ended in tragedy and we were afraid it would only heighten her fear of horses but it seems to have had the reverse effect. When she first got on the lesson pony, CJ, I could tell she was afraid but the instructor was gentle with her and she started to relax. About twenty minutes into the lesson, she was during very well, guiding the horse by herself and making it trot. She had a HUGE smile on her face. Suddenly, the pony spooked at a loud noise and dumped Kyrielle in the dirt. We thought there’s no way she’ll get back on that pony but she just spit the dirt out of her mouth, brushed off her pants, got right back on and resumed her lesson. What a little trooper! About ten minutes later, after the adrenaline wore off, she did start to cry but she insisted on finishing her lesson. She’s had four lessons so far and loves it. More importantly however, she’s not afraid to go up to Chloe and do stuff to her. Before the lessons, she wouldn’t even touch Chloe and now she grooms her and gives her hugs. I know it wasn’t easy for Kyrielle to overcome her fear and she’s still afraid but it’s now a rational fear. She knows the horse has the potential to hurt her but if she pays attention and follows the safety rules she’s much less likely to get hurt. We also talked about the importance of admitting her fear to herself and her riding instructor. Before each lesson, as she’s leading her horse to the arena, I ask her if she’s afraid and she says “yes…but I’m also excited.” I also love how she’ll tell the instructor ‘I’m afraid to do that” and she’ll do it anyways. What a great kid!
That’s it. I was going to write about some other stuff but I need to go lie down.
God Bless Larry. He truly is the id to my superego. I barely begin to think I want something and he goes out and buys it, or, even better, he gets me things I didn’t even know I wanted. Case in point, his little trip to BestBuy yesterday. But first, the back story.
Earlier this week I asked Larry to download some songs for me while he was at work. Specifically, I wanted Greenday – American Idiot, The Killers – Somebody Told Me, and a few Interpol songs. I still don’t know if he actually downloaded anything or not but last night he came home with three new CDs: The Scissor Sisters (based on John’s recommendation), Interpol (based on my request to download it) and The Killers. Needless to say, I was quite tickled at receiving three new discs and retreated into the den to load them on the Ipod . Here is our assessment of the three discs:
Scissor Sisters – Larry loves it. His favorite disc among the three. I’ve only listened to a few songs off it and so far and it’s my least favorite. It’s not that I dislike it but I’m much more interested in the other two.
Interpol – Granted, this is an old CD (2002) but I’m just now getting around to listening to it. I love it. Very 80’s post punk akin to Franz Ferdinand. Larry does not like it and refers to it as “Head Cold” music, his derisive term for bands he lumps together with Radiohead and Coldplay, two bands he loves to hate. I think his dislike for this genre is nothing more than some passive aggressive expression of repressed hostility towards me but that’s an entirely different blog.
The Killers – Synth Pop lives! When Larry put this disc in my hand I gave him a pissy look and said, “Why did you buy THIS??” I love the single “Somebody Told Me” but expected the rest of the disc to be absolute cheesy crap. Ok, it is cheesy but it is most definitely not crap. In fact, the single is one of the least stellar tracks. Another deliciously retro 80’s band. I immediately liked almost every song on the disc. I keep trying to crystallize in my head exactly who they remind me of but I can’t. I also can’t help but wonder if my current fascination with bands who exhibit a decidedly 80’s alternative influence exposes me for living in the past or if my appreciation of this music is validated by the age of the musicians making the music and the majority of their fans. This is college airplay music, primarily.
So, even though I would not have bought these CDs myself, Larry did good. And I found out today The Killers are playing in town on Oct. 20th. I really want to go but just thinking about going to see a show that won’t even start until 10 pm on a week night makes me tired. Looks like I’ll be slammin’ some Red Bulls and vodka that night.
Ok…ok…I am an unrepentant blog ignorer. I admit it. I think often of making an entry but then think of something better to do. It’s not that I don’t want to, it just seems to require more energy then I often have. Since today is shaping up to be somewhat slow, and Sean has shamed me once again with his pleas for blog entries, I’m taking the time to gather my thoughts, revive the language center of my brain and compose something that I hope, at the very least, will be read by somebody.
Since this is an election year, let’s talk politics! Actually, I really shouldn’t. I’ve become some what obsessed lately with the neocons and how much I hate their stinking, lying, war profiteering, fascist guts. I’m also disgusted with the Kerry campaign’s response (or lack there of) to the Bush campaign’s lies and distortions about his past record and his future plans for the country. Even more disgusting is Kerry’s lack of attack against the President and the failures of this administration. Just this past week, Kerry has stepped up the criticism of Bush but it’s nowhere on the level of Bush and Cheney’s attacks against him.
I was searching the Internet the other day for articles addressing my concerns and I found an article called “It’s Hard To Be A Democrat” at and, while it doesn’t address my main concern (why isn’t Kerry giving ‘em hell??), it does aptly express some of my frustrations with the Bush Administration, the Democratic leadership, and my inability to do anything about either. Here is my favorite passage from the article:
“It’s hard to be a Democrat because we have to be so many things to so many different people. We’re undisciplined, disorganized, and we’re up against 3000 billionaires who don’t like to share and don’t play well with others. These billionaires own the corporations and sit on the boards of all the major media outlets. They control the message and they use FEAR to divide us so many will vote against their own best interests. They embrace the uniformed, paranoid and gullible among us and call themselves and their minions Republicans. They are well funded, organized and unified around the basic emotions of fear and greed.
George Bush’s chief advisor has said:
‘As people do better, they start voting like Republicans – unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing’ – Karl Rove.“
Let’s read that quote again:
“As people do better, they start voting like Republicans – unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing’ – Karl Rove.“
It suddenly makes sense to me now, why Bush talks about the issues in such black and white terms, why he says, very simplistically, “If you’re not with us, you’re against us”, and why Cheney blatantly lied about Kerry’s voting record during his speech at the RNC last week. The current leaders of the Republican Party take us all for chumps. Cheney had no fear of his lies being contested because he doubts the average voter will bother to check the veracity of his statements. Why should we when we can reassure ourselves with his words from earlier this week, "because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again." We don’t need to worry about the complexities of the issues when we have Big Brothers Bush and Cheney tucking us in at night and keeping us safe from the boogey man. Frankly, if I were a Republican, I would be offended my party holds me in so little regard.
Ok, I’m ending the rant here. I have much, much more to say on the topic but as this moment I don’t feel it’s best. Rabidity is unbecoming no matter what your political affiliation. I would also like to add, if anyone reading this is a Republican, or plans to vote for Bush, I mean no offense. If you’ve researched the issues, and both candidates’ platforms, and feel Bush is the best choice for this nation, then you should vote your conscience. I’m just urging you to thoroughly research your candidate’s assertions and make an informed decision. You owe it to yourself. Like Greenday said, “Don’t wanna be an American Idiot.”
Maybe after this I should post something about the horses and life down on the farm….
I’m so bad…I just found this extremely funny (I think) article from theonion.com and can’t resist posting a link here. Please note the date of the original article, 1/18/2001. It’s actually kind of scary in a prophetic sort of way…